By the middle of the 17th century, as a result of the division and settlement of the Oirats, their nomads extended from the lower reaches of the Volga River in the west to the Great Wall of China and the foothills of Tibet in the southeast. The military and political activity of large Oirot ethno-political associations predetermined the appearance on the map of Eurasia of three nomadic state formations: the Dzungarian Khanate (1634-1758) in Dzungaria and Western Mongolia, the Khoshut Khanate (late 30s of XVII-1724) in Kukunor, and the Kalmyk Khanate (70-80 years of XVII-1771) in Russia. Lower Volga region. At this time, two major cultural and historical events took place in the inner life of the Oirats: the Dzungarian Congress of Mongol and Oirat ruling princes in 1640 and the creation in 1648 of the Oirat national script "todo bichig" ("clear writing") by the outstanding Oirat educator and religious figure Zayapandita (1599-1662). based on the Old Mongolian vertical script. Key words: Mongols, Oirats, Kalmyk Khanate, laws of the "Great Code". The congress adopted the code of Mongolian-Oirat laws "Great Code" (Oirat name "Ike tsaajin bichin"). A well-known researcher of the history of Mongolia, I. Ya. Zlatkin, wrote in his book about the Dzungarian Khanate: "It is not an exaggeration to say that these laws represent a first-class source that facilitates understanding of both the internal life of Mongolian society and its current foreign policy situation. They were based on a threefold goal: to regulate the internal relations of feudal lords and eliminate the possibility of internecine struggle; to ensure the unification of forces and mutual assistance in the fight against possible external dangers; to strengthen feudal orders and the power of khans and princes over the working people" (Zlatkin, 1964, p.173). This point of view needs some clarification at the present time. The main reason that prompted the Mongol Oirat princes to gather for a congress in 1640 was not ... Читать далее